New Deseret News publisher Burke Olsen on why the Church owns a newspaper and its mission to be a voice of ‘light and truth’
Church News
Church News
4.9 • 782 Ratings
🗓️ 21 February 2023
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Deseret News, the media company that publishes the Church News, is Utah's oldest continuously operating business. Founded in 1850 by pioneer members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the publications began with the motto of "Truth and Liberty." In January of 2023, Burke Olsen was named publisher of the Deseret News. He joins this episode of the Church News podcast to explain why the Church owns a newspaper and to talk about the history of the publication and the Deseret News mission to be a voice “of light and truth.”
The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | That for me is one of the things that's most thrilling about being involved in news publishing, |
| 0:13.1 | and especially at the Deseret News and the Church News, because our aim is to arm people with information |
| 0:19.5 | that helps them make better decisions in their lives. |
| 0:22.0 | If you read it with a sense of, I can learn empathy, I can learn what I need to be careful about. |
| 0:29.0 | As somebody who's navigating all the changing aspects of our world and our society, if you are informed, you have clarity, that you can have confidence |
| 0:39.5 | that you'll make better decisions by being informed by news. And from the earliest days of the |
| 0:44.9 | church, the printing press, newspapers, and all of the technology that have come since then |
| 0:50.6 | are avenues through which God can communicate truth and light to his children. |
| 0:57.8 | And so as long as the church owns the Deseret News and the church news, we'll be here |
| 1:03.2 | utilizing the latest technology to spread light and truth to his children wherever they are. |
| 1:13.3 | I'm Sarah Jane Weaver, editor of the Church News. |
| 1:16.2 | Welcome to the Church News podcast. |
| 1:18.3 | We are taking you on a journey of connection |
| 1:20.2 | as we discuss news and events of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. |
| 1:29.1 | Desert News, the media company that publishes the church news is Utah's oldest continuously |
| 1:34.0 | operating business. Founded in 1850 by Latter-day Saint Pioneers, the publication began with |
| 1:40.4 | the motto, Liberty and Truth. In January of this year, Burke Olson was named publisher |
| 1:45.4 | of the Desert News. Previously, he served as the company's head digital officer and as general |
| 1:51.3 | manager for digital products and digital content director. He is a bachelor's degree from BYU and did |
| 1:58.0 | graduate work at John Hopkins University. |
| 2:03.6 | Burke, we're so excited to have you on today's podcast. |
| 2:05.1 | I am grateful to be here. |
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